"Propertywire reports that prices on the coasts fell by over 8.3 per cent in the 12 months to the end of August, according to figures by Tinsa, one of Spain's largest appraisal companies. This compares with an average drop of 4.6 per cent for the whole of Spain."

"The end of Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch, two of the largest Wall Street investment banks, one week after the government takeover of the mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, marks a new stage in the convulsive crisis of American capitalism."

The "convulsive crisis of American capitalism" - I wish I had thought of that.